Baclofen

[Hydranea]

Hi Everyone!

I’m thinking of starting Baclofen and wondered if people had good results with it?

I’m assuming it helps with stiffness from MS?

Anyone have weird dreams with it?

Look forward to your feedback🙂

[kdali]

Yes, I have had good results with it, but no weird dreams. I have weird, vivid, and lucid dreams normally sometimes, but nothing fun because of baclofen 😢 I didn't know that was a side effect and feel cheated now. I'd like to go to the beach 🤔

Baclofen helps with my leg spasticity. This begins with tightness and can progress to stiffening and then cramping. Once I would be in bed ready to sleep, my legs would be under attack. The other issue with spasticity I had was walking speed and stair climbing. Baclofen helped with those too.

I only need to take it at night, currently. Stretching is a big part of spasticity management and you need to do more, more often, than you think you need to do 🤣 Plan stretches after bathroom trips, and you'll have that self care box checked.

There are many posts in this forum you can search for related to "baclofen". We all have different doses and routes. It's sometimes a trial and error thing. There are a lot of non medication management tips from this group also in old posts.

[NanciG in reply to kdali]

I take it to help with spasticity and use it only when I need it. It relieves the spasms and pain. It also helps me sleep. Additionally, it reduces the skin pain that I get which feels like my skin is being burned. As far as dreams go, I always have vivid dreams so I don't notice a difference there. I do notice that I don't wake up as often during the night when I take it, so I get a more restful sleep.

[hopeandgrace]

No weird dreams for me, I found that if I take too much that it makes me super sleepy, it helps with stopping my feet from spasms BUT not really with my stiff legs. Hope it works for you!

[KGrayiskindaok]

I tried Baclofen several times over the years and never thought it did anything for me so I use Tizanadine. However, Tizanadine makes me too sleepy at higher doses. Recently my Doc put me on a combination of Tizanadine at night and Baclofen during the day. It turned out I just needed a higher dose for it to work. These two meds are a life saver for me- otherwise I would be too stiff and in pain to move. Everyone is different. Keep trying and adjusting until you find what works for you. Good luck😅

[CV97]

I take a low dose of baclofen 3 times a day. My lower back was so stiff from spasticity and I struggled to stretch it well enough to get relief. It has definitely helped loosen that up so my stretches are more effective.

I almost never recall dreams and that hasn't changed for me one bit. No crazy dream adventures for me 😕

[kdali in reply to CV97]

Have you tried hanging from a pull up bar or walking backwards? I find them helpful for back aches/stiffness.

[CV97 in reply to kdali]

I have not tried those. I do have an inversion table & deep-stretch at the pool. I have lipomas in my lower back. It's hard to stretch my back well because they're easy to irritate.

I initially went to the Dr for them about a month before I was diagnosed with MS. Lo and behold, talking to drs about it after diagnosis was like talking to a brick wall. A lot of medical gaslighting telling me it was just part of MS....

After almost 8 years, I finally convinced a Dr to take them out. Surgery is scheduled for Jan 2nd!!!

[kdali in reply to CV97]

Wow, that's a long time to suffer with something easy to remove 😵‍💫 and pain is the reason insurance covers removing them 🤷‍♀️I hope you recover quickly!

[CV97 in reply to kdali]

Honestly, I stopped asking after a while. I didn't have the fortitude to be dismissed over and over.

They did remove one from my side (right under the bra strap) 7 years ago. It was an in-office procedure. The surgeon said it was too deep for him to feel comfortable going any further, so he got all that he could. (He refused to do the back).

Since he had to leave some of the lipoma behind, it re-grew. It has become uncomfortable again, and this time I asked for a full-anesthesia surgery.

Since they're going to put me to sleep for the side, I asked if she could take care of the back as well & she agreed! I've never been so excited for surgery! 😂😂😂

[kdali in reply to CV97]

I'm so glad they are going to do all of them! I have one, and it sounds like I need to ask before it's not in office eligible 🫣

[Robsmom]

I have taken Baclofen since my first visit with a neurologist after being diagnosed in 2009. It definitely helps with spasticity, and no, I've never had weird dreams. I hope it works for you too.

[MyMyelin]

I take 20mg before bed along with 300mg of gabapentin. This combo has been very effective for me for the last several years.

[bxrmom]

I have been on Baclofen since 2007 because I get horrible pain from spasm if I don't. I take a low dose 5 times a day. If I miss a dose, my leg with become painful until I take the missed pill. I do have reminders on my phone so that I don't miss a dose. No vivid dreams for me and I rarely remember any dreams if I do have them.

[Kitsey]

Hi Hydranea, I’ve been taking Baclofen for about 9 years. It takes care of the nerve spasms that I have in my right leg and foot. I started at 10mg 4x/day and now take 20mg 4x/day. Many days I don’t need all 4 doses.

When I started taking Baclofen I wasn’t sure I could continue because it made me so exhausted. I learned that that’s not unusual and to stick with it. Fortunately, my body adapted to it and the fatigue went away. I had a similar experience when I moved from 10 to 20 mg. I’m very grateful for being able to use Baclofen and certainly hope that it helps you.

[Tazmanian]

I take 5 pills a day and it helps with my spasticity no weird dreams

[Neworleanslady]

helped me a lot with pain and spasticity but made my legs weaker and jelly like so I couldn’t walk so I stopped taking it.

[Blanketttime1]

i love baclofen. i had months of terrible spasticity in my legs. i took magnesium, i did stretches multiple times a day, i even tried that old trick of putting a bar of soap in a sock by my feet in bed lol, but baclofen helped immensely. for ages i never took my tablets. i was stubborn about it and had to wait until i was in various sorts of agony before actually taking the prescribed: baclofen, gabapentin and lortab. everything works differently for everyone, so there's no telling how it'll affect you, but i hope it helps!

[Mayzee12]

I have been on baclofen for years for muscle spasms I started having them in my ankle and my foot will jump this happen at night and it didn't help. So I came off of it then I started having them during the day so I started back. Good luck with it,

[rrw5620]

I been on Baclofen for 7 years and it has held my ms from advancing. Great for Leg Spasticity and the tightness of leg. Its been a great drug for me